Jacksonville

Chris and I spent almost 2 weeks in Florida over the holidays. It was a little chilly in Jacksonville but after weeks of London weather, sunny and 65 isn't so bad! We spent as much time outside as possible. We even rolled down windows and opened the sunroof while in the car. It felt great to be in the sunshine and fresh air, especially at my Dad's in Jacksonville. As you can tell from the pictures, there are only a few neighbors but tons of oak trees and Spanish moss.

My brother and his family drove down from Colorado... yes, they drove! It was great spending time with them and the rest of the Cricks. As soon as I figure out how to get the pictures off our new camera without the adapter I will add other pictures from Jacksonville.

Chris, me, Jason, Maria and Steven

My brother and his family... Can you tell Jason doesn't like to have his picture taken?

Maria and Steven

Steven minus his 2 front teeth!

Steven is a bit of a cheeky monkey as well as a con artist. He managed to con Chris into buying him a $20 toy that was broken before we went to bed that same night! Chris quickly became Steven's favorite and the two of them could be seen playing in the yard, on the porch, in the living room, in the kitchen... well, you get the point. Steven specially packed a rubber snake to put in Grandma Lori's bed to scare her. The snake was strategically placed in no fewer than 4 places in one day eliciting screams... some legitimate and some for Steven's sake! He also made sure to bring reindeer food with special sparkles to ensure Santa could find him!

On our last night in Jacksonville I tucked Steven in to bed and he took my hand, softly in his own. He looked up at me and said "Aunt Jen, why do you and Uncle Chris have to leave tomorrow?" My eyes filled up with tears and then I realized he was just avoiding going to sleep... kids can be so clever!

The 1st Proper English Lesson of 2010

1. Touch wood: Common saying meaning the same as "Knock on wood."
2. Torch: Flashlight
3. Full stop: By definition it means period but in familiar language it is used as follows: "I have to stop eating fried food if I am ever going to lose wait. Full stop."
4. Effing and Blinding: Used to describe how a person is cursing or swearing. "When the snow brought London to a halt everyone was effing and blinding about the lack of preparation."
5. Bicky: A biscuit,as in a cookie.
6. Kit: Clothing or uniform.

Never Say Never...

I can still hear them in my head... the countless individuals who told us "it never snows in London." One sweet grounds keeper at a local park told us how when he was a kid outer London would get a few feet every winter but 'nothing' like that has happened in years and years. And then the sound of the pilot in October 2008 saying it was snowing in London as we sat on the Atlanta tarmac. Of course, there was also the Great Blizzard of 2009 that brought London to a full stop. As the snow flakes started to fall a little over 3 weeks ago, the day before our scheduled departure to sunny Florida, all those silly voices filled my head and had me near tears... London doesn't do snow well and I was having visions of cancelled flights. Luckily, it all worked out and we had a great holiday (minus my horrible cold and the 3 hour delay on the return flight).

Which brings us to today and the weather forecast for the next few days... snow.

And cold.